Tahanto memories will always run deep

“I’m excited to see the new building, but the old one is still very special,” Barbara Ball said.

The halls she walked, the classrooms in which she taught math for 27 years, will soon disappear.

Those who taught, those who learned and everyone who passed through the doors of Tahanto Regional Middle/High School will carry memories of the school, from the physical building to the people, the activities and the lessons.

For Principal Diane Tucceri, “It’s really going to hit when I drive by and the building is gone.”

One of the most memorable experiences for Mary Ann Stewart was “to be their teacher and then teach their children.” She had that chance, thanks to working at Tahanto for 40 years, starting when the building was new, in 1962. As a biology teacher, she also spent a year at the elementary school, and grew attached to one particular class she saw repeatedly, from elementary, middle and then high school.

“It was such a nice school to work in,” Carol Quist recalled.

As the principal’s secretary for 18 years, staring in 1975, she got to see the students as they grew up.

She also saw the changes in the building, noting one room on the first floor was designated for the mainframe computer. Now, of course, that same computing power or more is held by the students every day as they move from class to class.

Where it all happened

Most people thinking back on the history of Tahanto recalled more about the students, the teachers and the memories inside the building than the structure.

But the building was where it all happened.

Dino Mourginis, who worked as a guidance counselor at Tahanto from 1964 to 1992 said the schools had “a lot of good teachers. The kids are wonderful, never had any problem,” and added the school was “always immaculate” thanks to a dedicated custodian.

“I really enjoyed my time at Tahanto,” Lindsay Blackler said. She retired last year as an art teacher after 30 years.

“For a small school, our kids always got a good education, one of the tops in the country. I always referred to it as a private public school. You knew everybody,” Blackler said. The school was “a safe place, a positive place. Kids could find their own little niche.

“And they were protected, but exposed to things,” Blackler said, citing opportunities such as trips to Europe and exchange students.

Ball, who taught math until she retired last year, saw many changes in teaching, but recalled changes in the students themselves.

“Kids change,” Ball said, but “kids are kids. The kids at Tahanto are fabulous.”

The big changes were in fashion and technology.

“They came in with boom boxes in the 1980s, and now they have iPods. But they’re still listening to music,” Ball said, adding she also remembers fashion statements: “Big hair, I remember big hair.”

Educationally, “with MCAS, everything changed,” including texts and the way teachers taught, Ball said. “I think back to the way I learned and the way I taught it. I tried to make it fun,” she said and focused on the practical application.

“There’s not a lot of change in the kids,” Quist said as she reflected on the students who passed through Tahanto’s front doors. “There are kids that are rambunctious, but also so helpful. I don’t see a big change in the kids.”

Quist did acknowledge that “there are always the few who try to push it, but they turn out well. Everybody knows everybody.”

Stewart, who retired in 2002, recalled “a good working relationship with each other and the kids. They really were very good to each other.”

Served communities

Former principal Carol Bryngelson said one of her fondest memories was the day the superintendent called to say the state building committee approved the building project.

She had worked with two building committees during her 21 years as an administrator in efforts to build a new facility.

“It was a terrific building, built well, but it had served the communities for over 50 years,” Bryngelson said of the original structure.

While working to convince the communities to build a new school, she said, “The kids were wonderful, asking why the communities didn’t see the need for a new building. One student said a building really doesn’t make a school and she felt the strength of Tahanto was the relationship between students and teachers.”

The relationships reflected the character of the school.

“The kindness that we saw was inspiring but also something that was expected. And they learn from each other. They grew together,” Bryngelson said. “It was about them, not just a building.”

She said what Tahanto represented to her was “giving all those students the possibilities,” referencing an Emily Dickinson quote.

“Everybody was supporting the kids,” she said, adding that many teachers would tell her, “I love my job.”

The educational quality also stands out for Bryngelson.

“So many AP courses for a small school. The kids appreciated that,” she added, saying the students had become much more serious about their education.

But for the students, it was “the kindness to one another, the civility toward one another. It was such an advantage and will continue to be that way. It’s what happens daily and how they help one another, through the good and the bad,” she said.

“There are so many things that went on in that building,” Bryngelson said, adding alumni had commented to her on the old building. “They were a little melancholy; their memories are with that building,” but she said, “They carry it with them.”

For Tucceri, who has been at Tahanto since 1989 and has overseen the move into the new building after working closely with the building project, there have been some changes in the kids as well as the technology over the years. She said running a building hasn’t changed, just some of the details.

Tucceri found an old grievance in the files as she sorted through old files preparing for the move. It referred to complaints from teachers that there were only two typewriters available for them in the building.

Changes

The technology has changed, she stressed.

And the kids have changed because of the school.

“Academically, these kids are top notch,” Tucceri said. “There is a lot of pressure, doing a lot in very little time.”

She said the expectations in the 1960s and ’70s were not the same.

Tucceri has seen the cycle from all standpoints, from teacher to dean to principal.

“The kids in the buildings have changed dramatically. They take their education seriously. They really want to do well. The value of education has changed,” Tucceri said.

Changes over the years have included regulations. Kids used to hang their papers on the walls. Fire safety rules eliminated that practice, but “kids have left their mark,” she said. Their artwork adorned window shades and walls, giving budding artists a chance to show their skills, and future classes picked up on the trend.

She said the towns should remember what the old building had done for the towns.

The original program for the opening of Tahanto half a century ago showed state-of-the-art details like an automotive repair shop, a typing room and a steno class.

“It’s amazing how well we do with so little,” she said. “The communities do support the school, but the equipment is so old.”

But change, even when for the better, can bring tears.

When they were cutting the school sign from the front to move it to the new location, “we were not ready for the reactions, from kids and teachers.”

Tucceri recalled her favorite memory was when she coached a field hockey team that won the first league championship.

“It was one of those teams that, as a group of individuals with strong personalities, just fit together. It was not the most talented team, but everything aligned,” she said.

And over the years there were humorous moments, some of which could not happen now because the times have changed so much.

“There are definitely some funny memories,” Tucceri said, such as, “Finding a group of kids who somehow got a couch on the roof of the building and watched baseball games from there.”

Another group posted men’s magazine pages on the second floor windows — from the outside.

But, ultimately, she said, “We have good kids.

“We’ve been very lucky, the issues we’ve experienced compared to other schools. It’s a testament to these communities and families and their upbringing and the expectations on how to act here,” Tucceri said.

That community character, she said, “That is what makes us not have those larger issues. We care about the little things, like holding the door for the person behind you.”

And in a smaller school, students can’t get lost, even if they try.

“If they aren’t in class, we find out where they are,” Tucceri said and pointed out that “little life lessons, the personalization” helps make Tahanto’s experience special.